Suffering from electronic impotence and tired of looking at PS5, Switch and RTX graphics cards? Then go back to the original 8-bit era! Retro Hardware Developer Clyde Shaffer Getting ready to start crowdfunding on Crowd Supply, launching a new console that instantly burns the nostalgic soul——GameTank. This machine is not just a tribute, but a real hardware built entirely with two of the most popular MOS 6502 processors at that time, allowing “fantasy consoles” such as TIC-80, Pico-8 and other open source concepts to be turned into physical machines for the first time!
Two 6502s and dual-brain design perfectly restore the old experience
GameTank uses Western Design Center’s modern W65C02S chip. One main CPU runs at 3.5 MHz and is responsible for game logic. Another secondary CPU running at 14 MHz is responsible for sound effects. It has 4 KB of dedicated memory and can output 14 kHz sound quality. The display part is a framebuffer architecture with a square resolution of 128×128, without the tile or sprite limitations of the traditional NES. Shaffer said that this architecture can allow 8-bit games to have smoother animations. On a real CRT, the picture will still be blocked by a few lines at the top and bottom edges, perfectly restoring the old TV experience.
The performance is so luxurious that the card cassette is truly back
GameTank has a dedicated “blitter” circuit that can copy image data in Sprite RAM into the framebuffer at high speed and supports tile copying of any size. Since there is plenty of sprite RAM space, the game can use very large sprites for character animation! Games are loaded into physical cartridges, each cartridge has 2 MB of built-in flash memory, and there is a 26-pin expansion interface on the back for easy plug-in of new hardware. The controller part is equipped with four-way direction keys, three action keys and a Start key. It looks like a mixture of Atari and the American red and white machine NES.
Full open source design, you can even solder the PCB yourself
Shaffer emphasized that all GameTank designs are open source, including circuit diagrams, PCB board profiles, 3D printed enclosures, and parts lists.All put on GitHub for free download. The development tool kit (C SDK), emulator, card cassette burning program and multiple games are also open source. It supports both surface-mount and through-hole board types, and can be used for both automated manufacturing and DIY hand welding. If you want to try it out first,You can directly download the official GameTank emulator。
After five years of grinding, the retro dream is ready to go on the market
This console actually debuted as a prototype five years ago, and now Shaffer is finally ready to make it commercially available. With the development of an SDK and multiple original games, GameTank has transformed from a toy into a truly manufacturable 8-bit console. The next step is to let players get their hands on the physical machine through crowdfunding. For those geeks who still miss the 6502 instruction set and want to write their own language to play games, this is not only a console, but also a time machine that can turn memories into reality!